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Filing Personal Property Tax

Filing Personal Property - Section 58.858 requires all property owners to declare their personal property to the Commissioner of the Revenue on or before May 1 of each calendar year to avoid a late filing penalty. It is the taxpayers responsibility to give a complete detailed description, cost price, and year purchased of all personal property in Greensville County on January 1. This includes all vehicles, trailers, motorcycles, boats or boat trailers, boat motors, Sea Doos, business furniture and fixtures, machinery and tools, and mobile homes. Vehicle identification numbers are also necessary in making a fair assessment. If a vehicle had over 100,000 miles on January 1, a copy of the last inspection form or other documentation is required in order to be eligible for the credit for high mileage.

Forms and Applications

Click on the link below to download important documents about personal property tax:

Personal Property Assessments

Assessments Section 58.1-3103 requires the commissioner of the revenue to ascertain and assess, at fair market value, all the personal property not exempt from taxation in Greensville County on the first day of January in each year, except as otherwise provided by law.

Automobiles - valued by means of N.A.D.A Official Used Car Appraisal Guide using Trade-In Value. If no value is available in the used car guide, percentage of original cost is applied.

Trucks of less than two tons - valued by means of N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Appraisal Guide using Trade-In Value. If no value is available in the used car guide, percentage of original cost is applied.

Tractor Trucks - valued by means of N.A.D.A Official Used Car Appraisal Guide using Trade-In Value. If no value is available in used car guide, percentage of original cost is used and 90% is applied.

Motorcycles, Boats, Motors, and Boat Trailers - valued at 50% of original cost price first year, 45% of original cost price 2nd year, 40% of original cost price 3rd year and 2 1/2% per year thereafter until minimum 15%.

Recreational Vehicles, Campers, and Utility Trailers - valued by means of N.A.D.A Official Used Car Appraisal Guide using Trade-In Value. If no value is available in used car guide, valued at 75% of original cost price first year, 70% second year, 5% every year thereafter until 40%, then 2 1/2% per year until minimum 15%.

Aircraft - valued by means of percentage of original cost price -50% first year & 5% thereafter until minimum 15%.

All tangible personal property employed in a trade or business (computers and computer hardware, furniture and fixtures, restaurant equipment, hotel furniture and fixtures, satellites, tool and equipment) -valued by means of percentage of original cost price - 50% first year - 45% second year - 40% third year - 2 1/2% for following years down to minimum 15%.

Heavy Construction Machinery - valued by means of 20% of the original cost price.

Personal Property Tax Exemptions

A motor vehicle owned or leased by a member of the volunteer rescue squad or volunteer fire department may be specially classified provided the volunteer rescue member or fire department member regularly responds to emergency calls. The volunteer shall provide the Commissioner of the Revenue with a certification by the chief or head of the volunteer fire department who regularly responds to calls or regularly performs other duties for the rescue squad or fire department, and the motor vehicle owned or leased by the volunteer rescue squad member or volunteer fire department member is identified. The certification shall be submitted by January 31st of each year to the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Livestock and farm machinery designed solely for the planting, production, or harvesting of a single product as commodity is no longer taxable under personal property.

Personal Property Tax Relief

Any vehicles valued at $20,000.00 or less shall get tax relief according to the schedule shown below. For any vehicles assessed over $20,000.00, tax relief is applied to the first $20,000.00 and no tax relief is given to any amount assessed over $20,000.00. Penalty for late filing is not included in the tax relief.

The Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 1998 provided tax relief for any passenger car, motorcycle, pickup, or panel truck having a registered gross weight of less than 7,501 pounds. The vehicle must be owned or leased by an individual and NOT used for business purposes. A vehicle is considered to be used for business purposes if:

More than 50% of the mileage for the year is used as a business expense for Federal income tax purposes OR reimbursed by an employer;

More than 50% of the depreciation associated with the vehicle is deducted as a business expense for Federal income tax;

The cost of the vehicle is expensed pursuant to Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Service Code; or

The vehicle is leased by an individual and the leasing company pays the tax without reimbursement from the individual.

Vehicles qualified for tax relief are noted on the tax bill and show a reduction for the portion of the tax allocated to the vehicle. The 2005 General Assembly enacted legislation that changed the method of reimbursing localities of tax relief under the Personal Property Tax Relief Act. These changes require localities to take steps to implement these changes and to provide for computations and allocations through local ordinances. This legislation became effective January 1, 2006, for 2006 Personal Property Taxes.

The ordinance adopted in December 2005 utilized Method 2 in determining the rate of tax relief for tax year 2006. Method 2 annually set the percentage of tax relief rate at a level that is anticipated to exhaust relief funds with a specific amount of relief. This is calculated by dividing the amount of relief dollars allotted by the Commonwealth with the local tax dollars assessed on qualifying vehicles. The vehicles valued under $1,000 are given the same treatment as the other vehicles.

You are required to certify annually to the Greensville County Commissioner of the Revenue that your vehicle remains qualified to receive car tax relief. Therefore, it is important that you review the information sent to you by your locality to be sure that your vehicles are properly qualified. This information may be included on items such as personal property tax returns or tax bills. If your vehicle is improperly qualified or you are uncertain whether your vehicle would be eligible for car tax relief because it is used part of the time for business purposes, contact the Greensville County Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office at 434-348-4227.

Personal property returns cannot be filed electronically.

Personal Property Tax Relief for Certain Veterans

Qualifications for certain disabled veteran: has lost (or lost use of) one or both legs, arms, or hands, or is blind; permanently and totally disabled as certified by the Department of Veteran Affairs, and the disability is service connected.

Forms and Applications

Click on the link below to download an application packet for Personal Property Tax Relief for Veterans: